Specialist Fees Hit 2.2 Million Australians
A Grattan Institute report finds 2.2 million Australians paid extreme specialist fees in 2025, with rebates falling behind rising charges.
Updated on Nov. 8, 2026 in Healthcare
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Grattan Institute research found that 2.2 million Australians paid extreme specialist fees in 2025, defined as at least triple the Medicare schedule fee. Legislation passed in September will allow the government to publish all specialists' fees on the Medical Costs Finder website.
Why it matters
Medicare rebates fell in real terms by $9 between 2012 and 2025 while specialists raised patient fees by an average of $37, leaving patients with growing out-of-pocket costs. Patients have little information to judge whether a fee is reasonable, and limited competition from too few specialists and long public wait times gives specialists pricing power.
The most expensive 5% of psychiatrists charge a median out-of-pocket fee of $669 for an initial consultation, while only about 100 of 6,300 eligible specialists have publicly disclosed fees on the Medical Costs Finder website since 2019.
The players
Grattan Institute
An independent Melbourne-based public policy think tank that publishes research on health, education and economic policy.
Medical Costs Finder
An Australian government website that publishes out-of-pocket costs charged by medical practitioners to help patients compare fees.
The details
The report recommends requiring specialists whose annual fees average more than three times the Medicare schedule fee to repay all rebates claimed that year, with patients keeping their rebate. The government has proposed $500 million a year for public hospital outpatient clinics as an alternative.
Timeline
2012 to 2025: Medicare rebates fell in real terms while specialist fees rose.
2019: The Medical Costs Finder website was established with voluntary fee disclosure.
September 2026: Legislation passed allowing the government to publish specialist fees.
2027: Medical Costs Finder fee publication is scheduled to commence.
Healthcare Landscape
Medicare schedule fees define the benchmark against which extreme specialist charges are measured, and the widening gap between rebates and fees since 2012 has pushed more patients toward out-of-pocket costs. The proposed rebate repayment rule would be the first major change to how specialist fees are regulated since the 2019 Medical Costs Finder launch.
Patients seeing specialists face higher out-of-pocket costs as fees rise faster than Medicare rebates. Checking fees in advance and asking about bulk-billing options can help reduce unexpected bills.
The takeaway
Asking about the fee before booking a specialist appointment can help patients avoid unexpected out-of-pocket costs. Patients can also check the Medical Costs Finder once fee publication begins in 2027.
What happens next
The Medical Costs Finder website will begin publishing specialist fees in 2027.
Further reading
Explore more on Healthcare to see how fee policy shapes access to specialist care.
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Do you trust specialist doctors to charge fair fees for their care?
